Neuroanatomy of childhood disruptive behavior disorders

Our aims were to (1) examine possible neuroanatomical abnormalities associated with the Disruptive Behavior Disorders (DBDs) as a group and (2) assess neuroanatomical anomalies specific to each DBD (i.e., conduct disorder [CD] and oppositional defiant disorder). Cortical thickness analysis and voxel-based morphometry were analyzed in 47 8-year-old boys (22 DBDs with and without CD and/or ODD and 25 healthy controls) from Magnetic Resonance Imaging brain scans. DBD symptoms were assessed using the Dominic-R. In DBD subjects relative to controls, we found (1) a decreased overall mean cortical thickness; (2) thinning of the cingulate, prefrontal and insular cortices; and (3) decreased gray matter density (GMd) in the same brain regions. We also found that scores on the Dominic-R were negatively correlated with GMd in the prefrontal and precuneus/superior temporal regions. There was a subdiagnostic main effect for CD, related to thinning of the middle/medial frontal, and for ODD in the left rectal/orbitofrontal. Findings suggest that thinning and decreased GMd of the insula disorganizes prefrontal circuits, diminishing the inhibitory influence of the prefrontal cortex on anger, aggression, cruelty, and impulsivity, and increasing a person's likelihood of aggressive behavior. These findings have implications for pathophysiologic models of the DBDs, their diagnostic classification system, and for designing more effective intervention programs.     

Correlation and explaining variance: To square or not to square?

Despite previous articles dating back 80 years, the questions of whether and when to square correlations continue to puzzle and confuse researchers. In this editorial, I point out that correlations can serve two independent purposes: they can be measures of effect size in themselves and their function as regression coefficients can be used to estimate proportion of variance in one measure for which another measure accounts. Using examples relevant to intelligence researchers, I show that the answer to the question of whether or not to square a correlation is ‘it depends.’ It depends on the purpose and it depends on the underlying theoretical model of the causal association between the variables.     

The dependability of the general factor of intelligence: Why small, single-factor models do not adequately represent g

Floyd, Shands, Rafael, Bergeron and McGrew (2009) used generalizability theory to test the reliability of general-factor loadings and to compare three different sources of error in them: the test battery size, the test battery composition, the factor-extraction technique, and their interactions. They found that their general-factor loadings were moderately to strongly dependable. We replicated the methods of Floyd et al. (2009) in a different sample of tests, from the Minnesota Study of Twins Reared Apart (MISTRA). Our first hypothesis was that, given the greater diversity of the tests in MISTRA, the general-factor loadings would be less dependable than in Floyd et al. (2009). Our second hypothesis, contrary to the positions of Floyd et al. (2009) and Jensen and Weng (1994), was that the general factors from the small, randomly-formed test batteries would differ substantively from the general factor from a well-specified hierarchical model of all available tests. Subtests from MISTRA were randomly selected to form independent and overlapping batteries of 2, 4 and 8 tests in size, and the general-factor loadings of eight probe tests were obtained in each battery by principal components analysis, principal factor analysis and maximum likelihood estimation. Results initially indicated that the general-factor loadings were unexpectedly more dependable than in Floyd et al. (2009); however, further analysis revealed that this was due to the greater diversity of our probe tests. After adjustment for this difference in diversity, and consideration of the representativeness of our probe tests versus those of Floyd et al. (2009), our first hypothesis of lower dependability was confirmed in the overlapping batteries, but not the independent ones. To test the second hypothesis, we correlated g factor scores from the random test batteries with g factor scores from the VPR model; we also calculated special coefficients of congruence on the same relation. Consistent with our second hypothesis, the general factors from small non-hierarchical models were found to not be reliable enough for the purposes of theoretical research. We discuss appropriate standards for the construction and factor analysis of intelligence test batteries.     

Cooperative Coalitions on the Religious Right and Left: Considering the Resilience of Sectarianism

Theory in the sociology of religion suggests that a prerequisite for cooperative coalitions among religious groups on political matters is a decline in sectarianism. In analyses of survey data I show that sectarianism has receded for the religious left but not the religious right. Groups that would comprise the religious right are less likely to want the other conservative religious groups to have an influence on public opinion, while groups on the left are less opposed to other liberal groups having influence. It is particularly clear that conservative Protestants are wary of the influence of Catholics. I also conduct exploratory analyses to examine who, among the members of the religious groups who would comprise the religious right, is more sectarian. I find that while demographics are largely nondeterminative, those who are supportive of religiously-based politics are the least sectarian.     

Coping with stress in the australian job network: Gender differences

The authors attempted to identify (a) the coping strategies used by employment service case managers in Queensland, Australia, and (b) the strategies that could be beneficial in reducing the relatively high burnout levels that have been observed in this population. Significant gender differences in coping styles were found, and an association between burnout and escape‐avoidance behavior was identified for both female and male respondents.     

Making Sense of Suffering and Death: How Health Care Providers’ Construct Meanings in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Biomedical technology has progressed at a pace that has created a new set of patient care dilemmas. Health care providers in intensive care units where life-sustaining therapies are both initiated and withdrawn encounter clinical scenarios that raise new existential, theological, and moral questions. We hypothesized that there might be broad patterns in how such staff understand these questions and make sense and meaning from their work. Such meaning making might be the key to working with the critically ill and dying while helping to create and sustain a meaningful context for personal living. This article presents themes evident in an in depth analysis of open-text responses to a spiritual and religious questionnaire survey completed by staff in one neonatal intensive care unit. The data reveal the central roles of perceived infant suffering and death in these providers’ work experience and details how they understand the ultimate meaning of the suffering and death. We investigate patterns in how different providers articulate their individual attributes and motivations for working in intensive care. We found a surprising range of religious, spiritual, existential, and other meaning-making systems that underpin how staffs understand their work and how, certain of them, even define their purpose in life as caring for critically ill infants and their families.Wendy Cadge received her Ph.D. in sociology from Princeton University. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Bowdoin College and a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Scholar in Health Policy Research at Harvard University. Her research examines a range of topics related to religion in contemporary American life including religious pluralism, religion & immigration, religion & sexuality, and religion & the arts. Her first book is titled, Heartwood: the First Generation of Theravada Buddhism in America (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2005). Dr. Cadge’s current research focuses on the history, presence, and significance of religion and spirituality in American hospitals. Elizabeth A. Catlin is a senior faculty neonatologist at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in Boston and an Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School. Dr. Catlin completed general pediatric training at Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, followed by subspecialty training in neonatal–perinatal medicine at Brown University School of Medicine, Providence, Rhode Island. Dr. Catlin served as Chief of Neonatology at MGH from 1992 to 2004. She completed a Kenneth B. Schwartz Foundation fellowship in Clinical Pastoral Education in 1999. Dr. Catlin has a long-standing interest in spiritual distress, tragic decision-making, suffering, bereavement, and religious components of patient care in neonatal intensive care. Correspondence to Elizabeth A. Catlin, ecatlin@partners.org.     

Inclusion of Substance Abuse Training in CACREP‐Accredited Programs

Professional counselors and counselors‐in‐training continue to serve clients who have substance abuse issues, yet systematic training in substance abuse counseling is not available to many counselors. The authors investigated the extent to which students in programs accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP; 2001) are exposed to clients presenting with substance abuse issues and the relationship between state licensure or certification in substance abuse and the resulting perception of the need for the inclusion of substance abuse training in these programs. Three methods are presented for possibly including substance abuse training in CACREP standards.     

Violence Exposure and Early Adolescent Alcohol Use: An Exploratory Study of Family Risk and Protective Factors

In this short-term longitudinal exploratory interview study, the relations between exposure to community violence and subsequent alcohol use were examined, with a focus on caregiver and family variables as moderators. Maternal caregivers and their children (N =101 families; 98% African American; M child age = 11.2 yrs) were interviewed separately and completed measures of violence exposure, caregiver and child adjustment, including substance use, and family functioning. Family interaction was also videotaped and coded. Child alcohol use at Time 2 was positively associated with all forms of violence exposure, and was negatively related to felt acceptance from caregiver, but was not associated with caregiver-rated family competence, observer-rated family interaction, maternal problems with alcohol, or maternal psychopathology. Logistic regression analyses predicting child alcohol use at Time 2 indicated that exposure to community violence increased risk of alcohol use, and felt acceptance from the caregiver decreased the likelihood of alcohol use, but did not buffer the effects of violence exposure on alcohol use. Implications and future directions are discussed.